Circuit breaker service?

Question

I am buying a 100 yr old house that has 60 amp fuse service, how much will it cost to switch to 100 amp circuit breaker service

I am buying a 100 yr old house that has
4 bedrooms 2 bathrooms kitchen dining room and livingroom and full basement. The house currently has 60 amp fuse service, how much will it cost to switch to 100 amp circuit breaker service

Answer 1

It depends on a lot of things. For starters, the composition of the main service must be taken into account (from the pole to the box). Can it handle 100A?

Next you need to determine how many existing circuits are in the house and how many you would like to add.

Then you need to buy the new box, main breaker(s), and proper breakers for each of the circuits.

I would think an electrician would need two days to complete the task properly.

Call it $2,000, if no complications arise.

Answer 2

I bought a house in similar condition. More than likely the circuits are way overloaded with only a 60 amp fuse box for a 4 bedroom house. If you know nothing about electricity, have a good electrician look at the circuts in the house to make sure they are not overloaded. I am willing to bet that you may have to add new circuit wires along with the service upgrade. Most electric companies require that all new services be 200 amp.

Answer 3

Go with a 200 amp service. It is the same amount of labor. You are only paying for a bigger box and a larger size cable.The electrician will replace the cable or pipe coming down the side of your house,the meter socket. and the main panel. The power company is responsible for the line coming from the street. If they determine that the wire size has to be increased, it is no charge to you as the home owner.Don't know where you live, but services in N.J. range from $1200 to $1800.The best breaker box is Square D (QO). The job only takes a day or less with 2 electricians doing the work. Good luck

Answer 4

Clearly you do not want any technical advice if it conflicts with what you want to do. Why ask if you don't want people to tell you what needs to be done? Now for the legal and techincal issues that you must follow: 1. You will need a permit to do the work. 2. You will have to comply with all applicable codes, regardless of whether you feel they are or are not needed. 3. If you have a 60 amp service and 10 "circuits" and no 240 volt uses, you average 12 amps per circuit; I suspect you are fused at 15 amps per circuit. Were you to run all of one side near full load your demand per side would be approaching 75 amps and this would cause the 60 amp to pop. 4. If you blindly forge ahead, ignoring permits and codes you are taking foolish risks. If there is any failure in the future that causes property loss, your insurance carrier will investigate, see the violations, and deny the claim because you are supposed to maintain your property carefully. On top of this, there is added liability which will not be covered by your liability carrier if someone is hurt or killed which easily can happen when the work is not properly done. 5. You clearly already know what needs to be done; you want someone to agree with you to "cut corners" and no one is willing to do so. Now for what you don't want to hear: 1. Do it right the first time. 2. If 100 amp service is suitable for your needs, then this is what is to be installed; if you need more capacity, look at 200 amp service. 3. If you need to upgrade the feed line to # 4 AWG, then this is part of doing it right the first time. 4. Using a main lug rather than main breaker load center is not suitable either. 5. I would be more worried about the green house gases from the house fire your likely to see with your failure to follow codes than about the copper wire recycle. 6. I suspect the insulation on a lot of the wire is also an issue. 7. Your electrical utility may well "red tag" your service if they see you in violation. Once this happens, service is disconnected until proper repair is done. Do you think it cheaper to do it twice than once? 8. I suspect, with the tone of your comments, you trust no one unless they agree with you. Clearly they do not. I don't agree with you either.

Answer 5

Probably between 4 & 500 dollars. But you should go to a 200 amp service. It's usually required anyway.

Answer 6

Quite a bit. Heavier lines need to be brought to the house by a certified electrician. If you've got natural gas in the house, I'd not bother!

Answer 7

Get more than one estimate in your area, but I would not get under a 200 amp. service. You may have old wiring that needs to be replaced, so have it checked.

Answer 8

Had the same question when I bought my house. Got some estimates, they ran anywhere from$1200 to around $1600 here in Michigan.